Teams have to be good in the trenches on both sides of the ball to win in the SEC, and it seems like head coach Will Muschamp felt that the Gamecocks needed to upgrade going into his first recruiting class at South Carolina.
Of the 24-person class, seven were defensive linemen. That’s roughly 30 percent of the entire class devoted to the defensive trenches.
The seven signees were: Griffin Gentry, Kobe Smith, Stephon Taylor, Keir Thomas, Aaron Thompson, Darius Whitfield and Dennis Wonnum Jr.
With the new signees, it gives South Carolina 17 defensive linemen, all of who could make an impact next season. For Muschamp, he said the depth is good to have on his team.
“The most exerting thing you do as a football player is pass rush,” he said at his Signing Day press conference Wednesday. “You run out of gas pretty quickly, so especially early in the season, as hot as it is in Columbia and in the Southeast, you’ve got to have as many as you can to rotate up front.”
Both Smith and Thomas were early enrollees this semester -- meaning they didn't have their own ceremonies back home like the rest of the class -- so Muschamp staged a "signing" ceremony in front of family, coaches and media Wednesday at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Thomas committed on Christmas Day while Smith committed in mid-January. Smith is a gap-filling tackle, coming in at 6-foot-3 and almost 300 pounds. Thomas is listed at 6-foot-1 and 245 pounds and he could play both defensive end and outside linebacker.
But perhaps the biggest get was defensive tackle Stephon Taylor, who flipped his commitment from LSU to South Carolina Wednesday.
Muschamp dubbed him a “key signing” and said he’s excited feels really good about what the 6-foot-4, 285-pound lineman can accomplish.
“I think the big thing is that you can’t coach 6-4 and 300 pounds,” Muschamp said. “He’s got a great personality, a great work ethic, he comes from a really good situation, and we’re really excited about him.”
All seven linemen join a Gamecock defense ranking last in the SEC in rush defense and tenth in sacks with 20 last season. The defensive line lacked push at times last season and ranked dead last in opponent third down efficiency.
The lack of a pass rush led to some big plays through the air, but with a thick defensive front already, it could be beefed up with this crop of incoming freshmen.
The average height and weight for all seven linemen are 6-foot-3 and 263 pounds could add a big added push for the Gamecocks on defense this season.
“It’s a developmental position,” Muschamp said. “We needed to gain more girth up front. To be able to get Kobe (Smith) and Stephon (Taylor) and some of those guys to come on board, that was huge for us.”
Muschamp didn’t say if any of the incoming defensive linemen would immediately start for the team come September, saying redshirt decisions aren’t usually made until 17 or 18 practices into fall camp.
During the recruiting process, prospects were told they would be able to compete for a starting job in practice.
While Muschamp doesn’t know which freshmen will impact the team right away, there’s a chance some of the incoming linemen have chances to be in the rotation next season and make a significant impact.
“I’ve had other guys that I didn’t think there was anyway they’d play for us as freshmen, and they ended up contributing for us,” Muschamp said. “If he’s good enough, he’ll play. If he’s the best at his position, he’ll start.”
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